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Surprise: More guns = less crime for DC?

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The nation’s capital has been notorious in the past for its strict gun control laws and high crime rates. When the Supreme Court struck down the city’s ban on handguns in 2008, anti-gun activists warned us of skyrocketing gun crimes. But just a few years later, Washington, D.C. is reaping the benefits of fewer big restrictions on the sale and ownership of firearms and, coincidentally, lower crime rates.

For instance — the city is set to end 2012 with fewer than 100 murders for the first time since 1963 (via the Washington Examiner):

More good news:

Many have credited a nationwide drop in murders to better trauma center treatment for injuries like gunshot wounds. However, violent crime is down in D.C. and Prince George’s — the District has seen gun crimes decline for three straight years, and nonfatal shootings in Prince George’s dropped from 180 last year to 152 so far this year.